Cell Phones and Cars? An honest look into the cell phone ban discussions…

So in the news recently, there have been alot of talking about potentially banning cell phones and possibly even all electronics inside vehicles. Is everybody really okay with this?

Personally, I am a driver who texts(gasp!). I understand that in trying to ban cell phones in cars is only a way for us to try and keep people safe on the roads. I get that, really I do. My argument against a cell phone ban is that people have been getting in car accidents long before cell phones were available for just anybody to have. I can assure anybody reading this that if it’s not a cell phone distracting somebody behind the wheel, it’s going to be a billboard, fast food, putting on makeup, or even reading a newspaper. The people that are causing accidents are still going to cause accidents.

What is prompting me to write this little post is the amount a clever little bumper stickers that I’ve been seeing recently and quite frankly, it’s aggravating. On my route this morning I read one that says “OMG Plz dnt txt n drv. K? Thx byee.” to which I pulled up beside them as I was texting (or at least faking it) and smiling. If this is such a serious issue for you, then why make light of it with a silly little gimmick sticker? I’ve counted 5 other stickers on the back of vehicles this week.

For me, I am all for the electronics. I feel that they can be a distraction to a driver, but there are other things as well that can be a distraction that these people wouldn’t take too kindly to have to give up.

1) Fast Food – Last winter at a stoplight, I witnessed a pretty nasty accident that probably cost a city worker his job because of some lady with BOTH of her hands off her wheel, looking down at her shirt while holding a sandwich. She obviously slopped on herself and was looking to see where it went. What happened was she went left of center towards a plow truck who tried to get over and hit a car in the lane next to him.

Let’s get a petition going to put a ban on fast food drive thru windows, please!

2) It might have been last year or the year before, my hometown of Mansfield, Ohio had just started getting the scoreboard-esque billboards where they lit up and the picture changed every 30 seconds. The first accident that happened out near that billboard, somebody tried to have it taken down because it distracted her. As a community service, we’ll keep her in Ohio and have her stay away from the driving scene in Las Vegas.

All in favor of banning billboards with stuff to read on them, say I?

3) Putting on makeup in a car completely baffles me. I’ve witnessed people creeping down the road heading off road where you can see them in front of your car looking in their rear view mirror to apply their make-up for the day. Cell phones are really more distracting than this?

A ban on make-up in the car is what this country needs!

4) Lastly, I’ve seen people with the daily newspaper opened up across a steering wheel while a car was in motion. This one was multi-tasking at its finest! 😀

I guess what I’m trying to convey is that cell phones are not the cause of all these accidents… it’s the people! However, people these days have this sense of entitlement to where they feel like they know what is best for everybody and they will force it upon you at any given moment. To take things to the next level, these people are now proposing that ALL electronics should be banned in vehicles. If there were ever a time for a *facepalm, this would be a time. Not only would you not have a cell phone readily available to call in the case of an emergency, but you would no longer be allowed to use a gps, an ipod, or even a portable dvd player for your kids!

Where does it all end? I literally have NIGHTMARES about how our society is going to end up like the movie Idiocracy.

In closing, please share an honest comment with me regarding this matter. Help me understand what good can really come from banning electronics (or just cell phones) in vehicles. DO NOT send me a link with various car accident pictures unless you can prove to me they were texting at the time of impact. Be sure to click the ‘Follow’ button if you’re a WordPress user, ‘Follow’ me on twitter @Chatterbox4REAL, and subscribe to me on youtube at www.youtube.com/ChatterboxBrad! Thanks for checking this out!